Indore: Sudden and simultaneous change in working protocol raises stress

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The change in working modes simultaneously has affected the lives of people, raising their psychological stress. The working modes changed from offline to online during the pandemic and made people work from home. People took time to adapt to the changing work atmosphere which became the new normal. But, as the pandemic neared its end, the working system changed itself again and made it difficult for people to adapt to these back-to-back changes.

“Cases of depression and anxiety have skyrocketed in the past months. The cause of these psychological problems is stress, which people experienced during a change of their lifestyle because of the pandemic,” says Dr Rahul Mathur, psychologist.

It takes time to adapt to the changing nature of work and workspace and to respond to the situation when one is asked to shift from a daily routine. Dr Mathur says, “During the pandemic, people made themselves comfortable working from home. However, the effects manifest themselves differently in people depending upon their personalities and behavioral patterns. The shift in the different phases made people stressed out while performing their duties, and is psychologically termed as ‘burn-out’.”

Rajlaxmi Shukla, psychologist, says, “The changing schedules have affected people differently—a few were very comfortable working from home, while others missed their professional working style. Introverts had the advantage of staying at home and working at their convenience, but, when the same people were called to the office, it became a nightmare for them. Whenever a person is asked to move out of their comfort zone, they happen to experience stress resulting in other physical and mental disabilities.”

‘Working environs shift has affected everyone’

‘The changes that a person has to experience while shifting basic routine also change their mindset and tolerance. It’s not only the working classes who have been affected due to this change, but children, too, have experienced it. They were forced to shut their offline classes and sit in front of electronic devices to gain knowledge; human interaction was cut to nil. When they went back to their earlier normal routine, they were stressed out. It could be said the change affected people of every sector irrespective of age’

— Dr Rahul Mathur, psychologist

‘Stress results in blood pressure and diabetes’

‘The stress that people experienced resulted in them suffering from blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems and many others. People who multi-task got an opportunity to work on their hobbies along with working professionally from home. As times again changed, the pressure to continue with what they started out on and balance multiple works made them stressed out’

— Rajlaxmi Shukla, psychologist

Published on: Wednesday, August 24, 2022, 01:02 AM IST